Rudd, Wood Brothers press conference, part I

Part 1 of 2
August 20, 2002 Bristol Motor Speedway -- Wood Brothers Racing announced
this afternoon that they had inked Ricky Rudd to a multi-year contract to
begin driving the No. 21 Motorcraft Quality Parts Taurus in 2003. In
addition, ...

Part 1 of 2

August 20, 2002 Bristol Motor Speedway -- Wood Brothers Racing announced
this afternoon that they had inked Ricky Rudd to a multi-year contract to
begin driving the No. 21 Motorcraft Quality Parts Taurus in 2003. In
addition, Motorcraft announced a contract extension that will keep it as the
primary sponsor through 2005.

Eddie Wood, Co-Owner --21-- Motorcraft Taurus-- "I'd like to thank
everybody for coming. I know it was short notice. This deal just
actually went together about 11:45 this morning. It started yesterday
about that time, so it's kind of a 24-hour window that we had and,
fortunately, got it done."

Judi Moritz, Motorsports and Events Marketing Manager, FCSD North America
Business Development -- "I have the pleasure of the first announcement,
which is that on behalf of Motorcraft we are very excited that we have
been able to come to a three-year agreement with the Wood Brothers and
continue our sponsorship and partnership as a racing team. Their family
further accentuates the Ford family and our presence in racing and we are
very, very excited to continue that."

HOW LONG IS YOUR DEAL FOR WITH THE
WOOD BROTHERS?

Ricky Rudd --21-- Motorcraft Taurus -- "This came together very, very
quickly, so I'm trying to figure out exactly how to say this. It's a
three-year contract, so, again, real quickly, I'd like to make some
comments.

"First of all, I'd like to thank all the car owners. I had a tremendous
number of opportunities presented to me by a lot of great car owners in
this sport and it was one of the toughest decisions I've ever had to make
in my life. Usually, you're not presented with this many options. In
the past, you've got one opportunity on the table and you take it and you
make it work and turn it into something. This time, it was a little
confusing because we had so many great opportunities. To have the chance
to drive for the Wood Brothers was sort of a dream of mine when I was a
kid just getting started. I grew up in Virginia and, obviously, these
guys are on the western part of the state, but watching David Pearson win
a lot of races as a kid I noticed it was a family team that I always
wanted to be a part of. It was a tough decision, but after sorting
through it and looking at all the opportunities and looking inside and
out at all these teams, my number one priority was to get with a race
team that could win races right of the box, that could challenge for a
championship, and these guys do it every week. They've got a great pit
crew on top of that. It takes a whole team effort. I think just today
to show their support, I had no idea that we were gonna be represented by
the whole Wood Brothers operation. Not only from Eddie and Len and Glen
and Leonard, but the entire 21 team is here, so that's a tremendous honor
to show the support these guys have behind me. This is an operation
that, for me as an outsider looking in, has been under construction for
awhile and it's continued to get stronger and stronger. It was able to
win at Bristol last year. I've watched the performance of this team and
of this Motorcraft group qualify week in and week out and they just about
out-qualify me every week in the Yates operation. The days that they
seem to have a strong run going, they end up having some kind of a
problem, an accident or just misfortune on that day and they haven't been
able to captalize on some of the good runs that they've had shaping up.
Before I go too much farther, I'm not doing a good job because I'm
leaving out Motorcraft Quality Parts, a sponsor that I have a history
with from way back in the mid-eighties -- a team I was associated with --
so I know a lot of friendly faces and good friends at Motorcraft and I'm
looking forward to working with these guys again. I think they see how
competitive Winston Cup racing is and the Motorcraft folks have given
these guys the support it takes to go out there and put a car on the race
track. It's not cheap do that. It takes a lot of money to it and to do
it and step up the program and increase the engineering from Ford Motor
Company, the list goes on and on about the reasons why I did this. But
there's a family atmosphere, a good group of people that want to win as
badly as I do and I think that pretty much sums it up."

HOW CLOSE WERE YOU TO SIGNING WITH SOMEONE ELSE LIKE CHIP GANASSI?

Ricky Rudd: "Chip
and I had talked -- not only Chip, but I talked to many different teams.
With Chip Ganassi, that's a fine operation. Chip's a winner. He's been
a winner in every sport he's been in and he's winning in Winston Cup.
He's obviously leading the Winston Cup championship right now, so that's
a very strong effort that he puts on a race track week in and week out.
Chip and I simply couldn't come to final terms and, believe me, we
tried. There was a couple of weeks of negotiations that went on and,
contrary to what you might believe, it wasn't over money and it wasn't
because I gave Chip a right hook in his office one day. Just to lay that
to rest, Chip and I -- for your information -- have never met in his
office. We've never had a harsh word. We just simply could not agree on
terms. There were several toss ups there and you go back and you've got
to align yourself with the right team, but you've got to go with the team
that you feel comfortable with. I'm not gonna sit here and tell you that
Chip Ganassi is not a great person or a great race team, it's simply that
we couldn't come to terms. Again, it wasn't over money. There were
other teams I could have signed with. If I was just looking for the
money, there were some other teams out there that had some tremendous
incentives and bonus checks out there, if I wanted to join with them.
Again, this is not to belittle this team. All along, I said, 'Pay me
market value for my driver services -- a top 10 driver,' and we never had
an issue with any of these teams over money and, again, this is gonna be
the end of this. I'll be glad to talk to you tomorrow about any of this
other stuff, but, right now, this is about the Wood Brothers and the
effort they put on out there week in and week out. I'm proud to be a
part of it. I'll get into some of those other things a little later,
but, I'm not gonna get into a negative mudslinging contest back and forth
with somebody. I'm just gonna simply stick to this statement, but,
again, I'm not sure where these stories develop. I have no idea. Again,
the one with Ganassi and him and I having harsh words in his office -- it
never happened. I never met the man in his office. I've been to his
race shop one time three weeks ago and that's the end of the story."

RICKY WAS YOUR FIRST CHOICE FROM DAY ONE WASN'T
IT?

Eddie Wood: "Yes, sir. All you people in the media, I want to thank you for
being kind to us. You always asked the question, 'What's going on?' And
I gave the same answer from day one. I said, 'Until Ricky Rudd is in a
seat, we're not gonna do anything. I had dreamed and hoped he would be
in our seat. There were times you didn't know whether it was gonna
work. You hoped it would, but then it would go away and come back, it
would go away and come back. Fortunately, we caught it on one of those
days it came back. But I'd like to thank you guys in the media for
bearing with us. He was, of course, the first choice and we just waited
it out and it all worked out for us. I'd like to say one thing, which is
kind of on a different note. I know you in the media and the people that
watched the race at Michigan, heard Dale Jarrett comment on thanking us
for his win 11 years ago to the day. I'd like to thank Dale Jarrett in
that two years ago this week, he introduced us to Motorcraft. We were a
team without a sponsor. It happened at the Indy test. He rounded the
corner and I rounded the corner and we hit. He said, 'Have you got a
deal done?' And I said, 'No.' He said, 'Well, you need to talk to the
Ford people.' So the next day I called them and I think in 10 days we
had that done, so I want to thank Dale Jarrett for that. He's thanking
us for all that stuff, but he's done some stuff back and we appreciate
that. This is the greatest sponsor we've ever had."

HOW CLOSE WERE YOU TO RETIRING?

Ricky Rudd: "I would say back
during the winter after having back surgery, that was probably the time
that maybe I considered it the most. We came out of the box this year
and we weren't very good as a race team. It wasn't a real pleasant place
to be. I guess there were a lot of expectations that, considering the
way we had run the previous year, there are no guarantees in this sport
but I think there were a lot of expectations that we would come out of
the box and be challenging for a championship right off the bat and that
didn't happen. Our guys rolled their sleeves up, everybody went to work,
we pulled together as group, and we took a five or six weekend delay in
that but then we started to get our act together and started getting our
act together and became very competitive again. I guess I have to look
at the situation. I want to go out on the top of my game. I don't want
to go out where I'm a hindrance to a race team, where I'm holding a team
back. That was a lot of consideration. There are many other things in
that, but I guess after coming out and being part of a team that
basically rebuilt itself from the beginning of the year and became
competitive and still has a chance at a Winston Cup championship, I guess
it motivated me. I woke up and I think leading some races and dominating
some races this year and then winning at Sears Point, I think, if
anything, it kind of renewed my interest and I guess my confidence in
myself that I haven't lost it yet. I've got a few more years. I don't
know when that's gonna be, but it made me have the desire to want to
stick around a little bit longer. Certainly, there are some family
issues. My young son, the problem has been not watching him grow up.
That's a concern. I've got a seven-year-old that will be eight in about
two weeks. It's not an easy decision. I'm basically gonna try as hard
as I can to keep my family around me as much as I can. We're gonna make
it a point to try to do that, but it's gonna be an effort for the next
three years and there will be some sacrifices, but the way I look at, I'm
glad to be 45 years old with an eight-year-old son, versus if I would
have been 20-years-old and had him because I would have never seen him
grow up. I'm still fortunate that I'll be able to see him grow up. We
talked about it as a family and that was probably the toughest decision
was sacrificing the family time." IS THIS A THREE-YEAR COMMITMENT FOR
YOU TO DRIVE THE CAR? "I don't know how much these guys want to talk
about the nuts and bolts about the contract, but it's a three-year
contract and I guess you're asking if there are any escape routes, is it
gonna be a one-year or a half-a-year. I'm committed to the Wood Brothers
and I guess I'm gonna leave it at that. I'm committed to three years I
hope. I guess if they've got to kick me out of the seat, I'm not doing
my job, I'll be there for three years. If I'm not doing the job and I'm
holding this team back, I'll be the first to step aside."

WHY RICKY RUDD?

Eddie Wood: "Everything about Ricky fits
us. I was at the first race he drove at and I think he was in Bill
Champion's car -- number 10. Ricky's got Virginia ties as we do and it's
a perfect fit. We just got done doing the young driver development
deal. It worked out, but we didn't get to finish it, so we were looking
for a veteran that could come in and help our race team. With his
knowledge and his experience, that brings a lot to the party for Pat
(Tryson) and all the people that work on the car. He's got a tremendous
feel. Every race track we go to Ricky is capable of being a dominant
factor, if we do our job and we've got to do our job. We're gonna do
that. For us, he's just a natural fit. It's a dream come true for us to
have Ricky in our seat. When this thing started, it snowballed in 10
different directions. I think I called Ricky the first night -- when the
news really broke to you guys -- I think it was the weekend of The
Winston. I called him at home and the funny thing about it was the guy
that gave me his phone number was Elliott Sadler. I don't know where he
got it, but he gave me the phone number and it all worked out. We're
just tickled to death and we're looking forward to it."

IS IT SATISFYING TO CONCLUDE YOUR CAREER WITH A
VIRGINIA-BASED TEAM?

Ricky Rudd: "I think it definitely has a lot of magic to it,
especially as a kid growing up and coming into the sport in the early
years and watching these guys and David Pearson win everything there was
out there to win. The only races they didn't win were the ones they
didn't enter that year. I can't imagine the determination and strength
it takes as a group of people and as a family to go through all the tough
years and seeing Winston Cup racing change like it has. But you go into
the shop and it's a very state-of-the-art shop and it's all about
racing. You can tell right quick there are no big egos. I don't think
the family atmosphere would allow for an ego to take place there if it
wanted to, but there's not a guy in there that doesn't want to win as
badly as the next. I think that's what I think of when I think of the
Wood Brothers -- determination and perseverance. They're tough people
and they want to win. These guys have been in it a long time. They
could go fishing and close the doors any day they wanted to and have life
very, very easy, but here they are. The second generation is working on
the cars, along with Leonard. I don't know a lot of the guys' names in
the shop yet, but I'm sure there are guys that have been there since the
Wood Brothers started racing. A lot of people that don't have to do
this, they're there because they want to do it and they just don't want
to be there, they want to win. I feel like maybe where I fit into the
equation, and it's no disrespect to Elliott Sadler. I think that's one
of the finest young guys that has come up in a long time and he's got a
lot of raw talent, but sometimes you get into the big glitzy operations
and sometimes grass is greener on the other side. I've been on both
sides. I look at strictly where I can go to be competitive. What are
the raw ingredients they have here. They've got a heck of a motor
program with Jack Roush which is second to none. They've got engineering
support from Ford Motor Company and they've got people with the desire to
want to do it. And they've got a crew chief like Pat Tryson. The last
time Pat and I worked together we won at Rockingham, which was 1998. Pat
was turning the wrenches on my car and I wish he hadn't gotten away from
us because that was about one of the last times we won a race with our
own car. But now I'll have a chance to work with Pat again. It's not a
huge organization. It is not a multi-car team concept. I've been a
part of that and, believe me, more them don't work than do work. They
have certainly gotten better over the years, but they also have the
assistance of the Roush camp. If we get to a race track and we're
stumped for ideas, that information is available and we can use that and
tap that resource, so I don't feel like we're here in the Wood Brothers
camp and it's us against the whole world. I really feel like we've got
the support and if there are any shortcomings about being a single car
operation I think that's made up for by the association with the Roush
camp."

HOW DID YOU DO THIS IN 24 HOURS?

Ricky Rudd: "I think it's real simple. The
Woods have a lawyer that is very efficient. They worked through the
night. I don't know how much sleep they got last night. Our guy is very
dedicated and I think when you have two parties that want to work
together, you work through differences. It's no different than a complex
business people. You see the contract. I don't know how thick that
thing is, but that's pretty thick and you think about how many times they
had to start over again on several areas. But what I found out was when
you have two guys that want to make this deal work -- and that being the
Woods and myself -- and then attorneys that wanted to work together,
through a lot of midnight oil we were able to put this thing together in
a very short period of time. I don't think some of the teams are as
efficient. Maybe that gets back to big not always being better. If
you're a little lean, sometimes you can move a little quicker."

Eddie Wood: "That's how it came together. You have two
groups that want to make it happen. The way Ricky said it, he said, 'If
you write down my gripes, I'll write down my gripes.' I never heard that
term in a contract, but when we looked at everything there were very few
things that even mattered. The nuts and bolts of it was there, so it was
easy to put together. There was a lot of paperwork, but the lawyers got
through it and, even if things hadn't been as easy, we still would have
stayed with it until we got it done. We may have had this tomorrow, but
we were gonna stay with it until we got it done. Fortunately it all
worked out."

Ricky Rudd: "I'd like to follow up on that. I think the
trick is that paperwork is paperwork. When you get it done, it usually
goes in the drawer and that means it's a good association. If you have
to start throwing out the papers and start looking at things, you're
probably doomed from the beginning. Like Eddie said, we talked about
listing our gripes. This doesn't need to be a one-way street for either
party and I think that's the key -- it's all about compromise. It's not
a one-way street. I didn't want this thing all my way. As an owner, I
can see some of their concerns maybe a little bit easier than a guy that
is just a driver. I've been there before and I understand timelines and
deadlines maybe a little more than the average guy, and I think maybe
that background of being an owner maybe helped speed things up when you
see it from both sides. But the key is it's got to be a good deal for
both people going in. If it isn't, then it's not gonna work."

Eddie Wood: "On another note, my kid races. He races for
Jack. I didn't drive. My dad did, but I didn't. I've seen things that
he does and the way Jack does things that I know are important to drivers
that I never knew. It's kind of like you can be sympathetic with what he
wants and he can be sympathetic with what we want because he's done what
we do and I've seen what he does and it just works. We could have done
this with a handshake."

Ricky Rudd: "Let me say one more thing. When I say it's a
two-way street, it's really a three-way street. Obviously, you've got to
have a race team. You've got to have a driver and you've got to have a
tremendous sponsor that is willing to not only use its resources, but to
understand where we're coming from -- me as the driver and Eddie as the
team itself. It's got to make sense to these guys (Motorcraft) because,
really, without the money and financial support, we wouldn't even be here
today talking about this. These guys felt like this is a smart pairing
and they feel like they can make it work in their business and I
certainly hope so. I hope we can sell more Motorcraft parts because of
this, but it gets more complex. It's not an owner and driver, it's more
of a three-way thing. It definitely takes participation by a sponsor
that wants to be a part."